


From Down Here

by laurus_nobilis



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-24
Updated: 2015-11-24
Packaged: 2018-05-03 06:12:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5279825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurus_nobilis/pseuds/laurus_nobilis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pearl is still upset about the events of Space Race, and Steven won't allow that on his watch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From Down Here

**Author's Note:**

> Written for round 5 of Gen Prompt Bingo with the prompt "Explorer" (although it ended up as a pretty loose interpretation).

Pearl was sitting alone on the roof again. She wasn't making any noise, but Steven could tell, anyway. He'd seen her climb up there and she hadn't come down yet. It felt like it'd been ages. If Pearl knew he was still awake, she'd probaly just tell him to stop worrying and go to sleep, but how could he do that? It had been days since the whole space thing happened and she was still doing this. She acted normal during the day, but then, when the stars came out, she climbed up there to look at the sky, as if no one would notice. At least she had stopped with the loud sighs after the first couple of times. Garnet said he should give her time and it would get better, but... he wasn't so sure. Some things didn't get better on their own, and besides, what if Garnet meant _gem_ time? It could be years. It could be decades!

Steven stared at the ceiling for a long time. He still heard no sound at all, but he couldn't sleep, anyway. After a while, he sighed and got out of bed. This wasn't going anywhere. He stuck his head out of the window and looked up.

"Hey, Pearl?"

"What... Steven!" Pearl rushed towards him and pulled him up. "What are you doing? That's dangerous!"

"Sorry. I just wanted to check on you," he said. He took a few steps further away from the edge of the roof, just so she wouldn't freak out more, and sat down.

"You didn't have to do that through the _window_ ," she sighed. Then it looked like she relaxed a little bit. "That's very kind of you, Steven. But you don't need to worry. Just go back to sleep, okay?"

Ah, yes, of course. Just as Steven had predicted. He was a genius. Luckily, he had already planned for this. He'd had several nights to imagine how this conversation might go, after all, so he was prepared to face almost anything.

"But I can't sleep. Not with you up here."

"Oh? I thought I was being quiet..."

"You are." Steven frowned. "It's kind of creepy, actually."

"Oh, Steven... I'm sorry. I can go somewhere else if you prefer--"

"No, that's not it," he interrupted. It sounded like she was getting the wrong idea about this. "What I mean is, I can't sleep if I know you're still upset."

Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say. Now Pearl was making that face where everyone could tell that she was really sad or really worried, and at the same trying super hard not to let people notice. Steven knew _that_ would be the wrong thing to say, at least.

"But I'm not..." she began to say, then seemed to change her mind and shook her head. "That is -- I'm sorry, Steven. You shouldn't be worrying about me, it's supposed to be the other way around."

Steven shrugged.

"We can both do that."

He patted the place on the roof right beside him, showing off his most adorable smile, guaranteed to work. True enough, Pearl only hesitated for half a second before she sat down next to him. She didn't look at him, though. She was still staring up at the sky.

"I know what I did was wrong," she admitted. "I just wish you could have seen it... It's so wonderful, Steven. I would have loved to share that with you."

"Well... I've been thinking about that, too."

"... oh?"

"Not the going to space part!" he said quickly. "I mean, we can't do _that_. It's just, you can still show me."

"I'm not sure I follow, Steven."

"You can show me from here! You have a telescope, right? I know you guys use it for like, watching out for threats, but maybe we can borrow it when you're not busy with important stuff."

For what felt like an eternity but probably was just a few seconds, Pearl didn't react. Then her face lit up.

"Oh, Steven, that's a wonderful idea!"

"You really think so?"

"Of course! It's brilliant! I was so caught up in showing you _actual space_ that I didn't think... Well, that we could see it from down here." She paused for a moment, and even though it was too dark to be sure, Steven was pretty sure that she was blushing. "It's a little embarrassing, really. I should have thought of this sooner."

"Don't worry, Pearl. Not everyone can be as awesome as me."

She laughed, and that was definitely a victory. And then it got even better when she ruffled his hair and pulled him into a hug.

"That's right, Steven," she said. "You _are_ awesome. Starting tomorrow night, I'm going to teach you all about space!"

"Aww, tomorrow? Why can't we just get the telescope and start right now?"

"Because," said Pearl, "you should be in bed. I think you can sleep now, isn't that right?"

"Yeah," Steven replied, after thinking about it for a moment. "I think I can."


End file.
